The Redskins return to action this weekend to host the winless 49ers, who are currently 0-5 under first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan following an overtime loss to the Colts on Sunday.
Playing on the road is never easy and the San Francisco 49ers are living proof.
The 49ers have yet to win a game under new head coach Kyle Shanahan, as they are now 0-5 heading into Sunday's matchup with the Washington Redskins at FedExField in Landover, Md.
The game will be televised on FOX with a 1:00 p.m. EST kickoff.
Shanahan, who spent four years as the offensive coordinator for the Redskins, earned a six-year contract with the 49ers back in January. Five games in, Shanahan's team has been battered both at home and on the road and is one of three teams in the NFL without a win this season.
San Francisco has come excruciatingly close to victory, playing in two consecutive overtime games against the Arizona Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts. A Larry Fitzgerald walk-off touchdown in Arizona dropped the 49ers to 0-4, while a 51-yard field goal by Colts' kicker Adam Vinatieri continued San Francisco's losing streak.
Journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer leads San Francisco under center and has seen his fair share of adversity in 2017. Hoyer has 1,211 yards and four touchdowns compared to four interceptions on the year. He has a completion average of 59.3 percent and has been sacked 15 times.
This isn't to say Shanahan is not afraid of dialing up the passing game. Hoyer threw 46 attempts in Week 5 and 49 attempts in Week 4, but still only managed a 3-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in those two games.
Wide receiver Pierre Garçon has been Hoyer's main target this season. Garcon arrived in San Francisco in the offseason after departing from a five-year stint with the Redskins. His newest season with his third team has been up and down, recording one game with more than 100 yards receiving, but two games with less than 40 yards. With no touchdowns to his name, San Francisco leans on running back Carlos Hyde in the red zone. Hyde, who ran for 332 yards in five games, has two of the team's combined seven offensive touchdowns this year.
With the offense still working out the kinks, San Francisco's defense has been keeping the team competitive. The unit ranks second in the NFL with 10 forced fumbles, four of which can be attributed to rookies Elijah Lee and Victor Bolden Jr.
Linebacker Navarro Bowman leads the team with 38 total tackles. However, Bowman suffered a stinger during Sunday's contest against the Colts.
Luckily for San Francisco, linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, the team's second leading tackler, remains as healthy as ever. Armstrong has recorded more solo tackles than Bowman with 27 and grabbed an interception in each of his last two games.
Outside linebacker Elvis Dumerville was a non-factor during his first three games, but since playing the Cardinals has recorded a team-leading 3.5 sacks.
San Francisco's dominant linebacker corps will be tasked with containing former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis. The 33-year-old Washington, D.C., native spent a decade in San Francisco, and will face his former team for the first time since leaving in 2015. Davis stands as the Redskins' third leading receiver this season and broke off a huge 69-yard catch and run last week against the Kansas City Chiefs.
